Croydon

Aims are 'to get people out into the surrounding countryside, to visit places of interest and to meet up with like-minded people. It is not just a Club for those who want to walk, but also caters for those who wish to visit some of the many interesting places there are in and around the area, including London and further afield'.

'Walking and cycling form the core of the outdoor programme, although Club Members often organise other exciting one day, weekend or full week holidays, involving activities like caving, canoeing, climbing, skiing and windsurfing. We attempt to put something back into the community by arranging conservation projects, a "wheelchair ramble" and support for the charity "Shelterbox".'

'Croydon Ramblers was founded in 1950, the first of Ramblers' local groups, and we are also one of the largest local groups in Surrey. Our main activity is our extensive walking programme of about thirty walks a month. We have walks on most days of the week and sometimes there is a choice to cater for Ramblers' abilities and experience.'

'Kenley Common is a 56 hectare (139 acre) public open space located in the London Borough of Croydon. It forms part of a larger area of open countryside, within the London Green belt, that links London with the wider countryside of Surrey.'

'If the Corporation of the City of London hadn’t bought the "Coulsdon Commons’"– Riddlesdown and its neighbouring "wastes" of Kenley Common, Coulsdon Common and Farthing Downs – for £7,000 in 1883 (nearly £1 million today), there’s little doubt what would have happened. All four high green open spaces would have been gobbled up in London’s inexorable southward expansion. As it was, the City of London dedicated the 350 acres of Coulsdon Commons, "fine, open, breezy downs, already largely used for purposes of recreation by the public, and now for all time secured for those purposes".'

'Walker Dunelm is Inside Croydon‘s non-resident rambler who has devised, and walked, a series of countryside ambles in and around the local area. To help you plan your local rambles, we have collated ... links to each of the walk articles.'